The Great Societies, Pt 2: Metropolis & The Ways of Meaning

 

12 Dec 2025

Episode 6.19 –

The Great Societies, Pt 2: Metropolis & The Ways of Meaning

We finish our discussion of the silent film Metropolis and answer our question of art and politics by examining the text, context, and reader meaning-making.

Discussed in the episode:

• A definition of Context:
  • with / accompanying / outside of (traditional definitions)
  • as a Limitation
  • as Dialogue
  • as Horizon
  • as Motive

Complete Resources: https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/

CHAPTERS

00:00     Art Against the Emperor
04:37     Intro Theme
05:12     Reading the Text: Architecture pf Exploitation
15:38     Blinding Ourselves with Plot
22:03     Reading Context
30:51     Revisionism and Metropolis
36:56     Reader Readings
45:39     Accountability for Politics and Arts
49:27     Closing Credits

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New to Literary Nomads? Check out episode 5.00 to find out what we’re all about: https://waywordsstudio.com/podcasts/waywords_podcast/an-introduction-and-irony/

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Transcript:  https://waywordsstudio.com/general/transcript/6-19-the-great-societies-pt-2/

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Literary Nomads is the primary program of Waywords Studio (https://waywordsstudio.com). The podcast posts new material each week, with thought-provoking examinations of literature around selected questions or themes and several smaller supplemental episodes in between the larger programs: history, writing, and contemporary applications of ideas.

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CREDITS:

Original music by Randon Myles (https://randonmyles.com/)

Chapter headings by Natalie Harrison and Sarah Skaleski

USING THIS WORK:

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is open to be used and adapted for all not-for-profit uses with proper attribution.

MLA CITATION:

Chisnell, Steve. “6.19 The Great Societies, Pt 2: Metropolis & The Ways of Meaning,” Literary Nomads. Waywords Studio, 12 Dec 2025, https://waywordsstudio.com/project/le-guin-omelas/.